Grace Packer's Mother Charged With Murder in Gruesome Death

Sara Packer, the adoptive mother of Grace Packer, was led out of District Court in Newtown, Pa., Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017, by Pennsylvania Constables and taken into custody. (Michael Bryant/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Grace Packer's adoptive mother Sara Packer was charged with homicide Sunday in an alleged rape-murder fantasy with her boyfriend connected to the death of the 14-year-old after her dismembered remains were reportedly found in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

Packer, who was reportedly a former caseworker with Northampton County's children and youth agency, was charged with homicide, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, possessing instruments of crime, endangering the welfare of a child, abuse of corpse, simple assault, tampering with physical evidence, and conspiracy, The Huffington Post reported.

Prosecutors accuse the couple of killing the 14-year-old girl in July, storing her body in the attic of their rented home in Quakertown four almost four months before dismembering her, Philly.com reported. A criminal complaint alleged that Sullivan raped the girl before she was killed while her mother watched.

"This was a sexual fantasy that was shared between Jacob Sullivan and Sara Packer, and Grace Packer was the object of that rape-murder fantasy," Bucks County District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub said, according to Philly.com.

According to The Huffington Post, Weintraub said the couple could face the death penalty if they are found guilty of the murder.

Authorities charged that the Sara Packer and Sullivan packed the girl's dead body with cat litter in an attempt to disguise its decomposing smell, noted WPVI-TV. Hunters visiting a Luzerne County park found the girl's torso on Oct. 31 while K-9 teams discovered her legs and arms nearby, according to a criminal complaint, the television station noted.

WPVI-TV reported that Sara Packer had previously been charged with child endangerment and obstruction. Police claimed that Packer gave misleading information to detectives after reporting that the girl was missing from their Abington home in July, the television station noted.

Authorities charged that Sara Packer continued cashing her daughter's $700 Social Security checks and updating her disability forms while never disclosing that she was missing, per WPVI-TV.

A criminal complaint stated that Sullivan and Packer had made a suicide pact and tried to overdose on prescription pills on Dec. 30, but were hospitalized after being found by a woman who lived with them, according to the television station.

Grace Packer's adoptive mother Sara Packer was charged with homicide Sunday in an alleged rape-murder fantasy with her boyfriend connected to the death of the 14-year-old after her dismembered remains were reportedly found in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.